VR-Bank Wurzburg

The buildings on the western side of the marketplace in Wurzburg were lost in the destruction of the Second World War. Using the historical building contours as a basis, VR-Bank Wurzburg constructed a new office and commercial building. The glass facades were produced by SGT GmbH Sicherheits- und Glastechnik from Tauberbischofsheim, a cooperation partner of UNIGLAS^®.

The marketplace originally had a right-angled, almost square layout. The sides are delineated by a 3-4-storey block construction, mostly from after the War. The northern side is adorned by the gothic Lady Chapel from 1377. In the West, however, there was no clear edge after the destruction; the edge of the square was opened by irregular lines of facades. The town-planning shape of the marketplace seemed amorphous. The original edge was demarcated by 4-storey buildings - including by Antonio Petrini and Balthasar Neumann from the 17th and 18th century. The striking corner building by Petrini was richly decorated and crowned with a strongly divided garret storey in a later phase of construction. The reshaping of this side of the market was accompanied by lively discussions between the advocates of historical and contemporary construction. It was argued that a historicised reconstruction would have seemed somewhat false due to some modern details.  

A reconstruction was therefore created that follows the historical contours and dimensions. It gives back to the market its original town-planning shape, not without opening up interesting views into the streets and alleys radiating off from the square, awakening the curiosity of visitors. The reconstruction of the VR-Bank clearly shows contemporary architectural features. For example, the vertical division of the facade from the Wilhelminian period has been replaced by horizontal division. In view of the neighbouring post-war buildings, this decision has allowed the building to fit in more consistently. The facade has two layers: on the front of the actual facade layer there is a second layer of glass-fibre reinforced natural stone lamellae. This facade structure is due to two different requirements for the building: on the one hand, the new construction must be as light as possible because of an existing underground garage under the building plot, and on the other, a high-quality, long-lasting and prestigious facade material - such as the shell limestone found in the region - should be used, due to the planned use of the building. The finished facade combines both requirements and lies over the building like a light curtain. The lamellae of light grey shell limestone are divided into entirely closed, semi-transparent and open areas, thus revealing the inner structure of the building in the facade. The axis-symmetric facade design gives the structure a self-sufficient appearance and conveys calm. 

The formerly dominant garret roof is made of glass, a material typical of the present day. The minimalist shape of the glazed „hood" achieved with this fine construction material is emphasised by extremely delicate window bars and division. Glazing with UNIGLAS®|SUN 51/26 solar control insulating glass protects the offices on the 4th floor and the whole building against over-heating and grants an unobstructed view onto the old city. This also retains the pure, crystalline appearance of the roof. Here in particular, external solar control measures would have greatly impaired the building's appearance. With this elegant glazing solution from UNIGLAS®, professionally implemented by SGT GmbH Sicherheits- und Glastechnik from Tauberbischofsheim, the architecture remains unchanged in all sun and lighting conditions. This also avoids external sun protection's greater need for maintenance and repair, which not least of all has a positive effect upon the running costs.

Customer and Culture-Oriented
Inside the building, the functions of the bank are clearly arranged and follow the classic, tried and tested layout. Visitors and customers can get their bearings quickly. Almost half of the ground floor is taken up by a hall - accessible from two sides - with the necessary machines for cash and bank transactions. This can be conveniently separated off after the close of business. The hall is also used as a forum for cultural events. Two rooms for undisturbed advisory meetings and function rooms round off the ground floor. A central opening in the ceiling guides one's gaze into the 1st upper storey. Here there are more advice rooms and a reception and lounge area, which can also be used as a large events area thanks to variable furniture. This area is closed off vertically at two stairwells on the narrow sides of the building. One is directly accessible from the semi-public area, in order e.g. to visit a lecture on the 1st upper storey. A special highlight is the roof deck, which offers an unobstructed panoramic view onto the old city, Fortress Marienberg on the opposite bank of the Main and the surrounding vineyards.

After more than half a century, the new building of the VR-Bank has restored the spatial structure of Wurzburg's market square. Restrained in design, the balanced ratio of open to closed facade areas in an interesting combination of natural stone and glass identifies the building as a document of contemporary construction.

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